IATC Online Conference : www.MumbaiTheatreGuide.com

IATC Online Conference

May 28, 2020 1:54:35 PM IST
MTG editorial

The International Association of Theatre Critics has organized an international conference

CRITICISM AND CORONA:
Redefining the Performing Arts in Times of the Corona Pandemic

Friday May 29
10 a.m. US, Chicago time, 17 p.m., Central Europe Time, 20 p.m. Indian time

Speakers at the interactive live-streamed conference are:

Cecilia Djurberg (Sweden), Chris Jones (USA), Savas Patsalidis (Greece), Rui Pina Coelho (Portugal), Deepa Punjani (India), Vikram Phukan (India), Rita Sebestyen (United Kingdom), Margareta Sorenson (Sweden). Moderator/host: Ivan Medenica (Serbia).

The theatre art all around the world is still in lookdown due to the coronavirus pandemics. While waiting for the protocols which will allow gatherings both on stages and in auditoriums, theatres are searching for alternative ways to make and/or present shows, i.e., to exist. One of the widespread means of this alternative existence is online transmission or streaming of performances. This practice raises, first of all, serious questions regarding the aesthetical essence of the theatre.

Furthermore, it raises a question as to how criticism should react to this phenomenon of the online theatre that could, for a while, remain the only existential mode of performing arts in general. We propose a few topics/questions to be discussed regarding this issue.

• Can theatre broadcasted on TV or YouTube channels, or live-streamed, be considered theatre at all? Are there performing arts without an intense interaction, on the level of body, energy, spirit, and mind, between performers and spectators in a live event?

• Do we make a distinction between theatre which is transmitted online/live-streamed and a digital theatre, the one in which digital procedures are an integral element (with the Internet chat rooms as stages and avatars as performers, for example)?

• How does criticism react to the recordings and live-streaming of the theatre? Is writing about this experience theatre criticism at all (when we don’t experience the energy, atmosphere and other qualities of a live performance and our perception is shaped by recordings)?

• Why is this method of analysis (based on recording/streaming of shows) appropriate for theatre studies but questionable in case of theatre criticism?

• Is there a difference between writing about a recording, and about a live-streamed show?

• Are there some new, inventive, interactive, "digital" practices of writing about online transmission or streaming of theatre performances?

Visit the IATC web journal: critical-stages.org
click for its You Tube Channel.

read / post your comments

More on Theatre Update

- This Week's Stage Stars: Must-Watch Theatre Plays in Mumbai
- From Comedy to Classics: Theatre Play Highlights in Mumbai This Week
- From Laughter to Legacy: Must-Watch Theatre Plays in Mumbai This Week
- Resh Lamba on Craft, Character, and the Casting Room
- Lights, camera, action, Mumbai! Immerse yourself in the excitement of live theatre this week. (9th - 15th June 2025)
- Kenneth Desai on the Craft of Acting: Finding Truth in the Imaginary
- Embracing the Moment: Naveen Kaushik's Art of Improvisation
- Stage Lights On, Mumbai! Experience the Best of Live Drama & Theatre This Week (2nd - 8th June)
- Kaustubh Trivedi Passes Away: Remembering an Gujarati Theatre Luminary
- From Laughter to Legacy: What's Playing This Week (26th May - 1st June 2025)
- CALIFORNIA SUITE - Neil Simon's Classic, Reimagined for the Indian Stage
- Weekly Stage Watch: Best Drama & Plays in Mumbai This Week (19th - 25th May 2025)
- Natya Ratan Festival: A National Tribute to Late Shri Ratan Tata
- HAMLET YA NAHI?: A Bold New Take on Shakespeare's Classic Tale
- Premiere of ISHWAR starring Puneet Issar


	Theatre Update Archives

Discussion Board

Schedule